Question:
Do Medical schools care about what undergraduate school you went to?
If I’m trying to decide between two different colleges, does it matter which one I choose if I want to go to medical school?
Answer:
This is a great question. In general, it’s a good idea to choose an undergraduate school that has a medical school attached to it. The reason for this is that you can spend some time during your undergraduate years getting to know the faculty of the medical school. You can do research with someone from the medical school, visit medical school classes, talk to the Dean of the medical school, etc. This will give you a “who you know” advantage when you are applying to that medical school.
That being said, there is something to say for a smaller school. Getting to know your professors is a big deal. The reason for this is that they will be the ones writing your letters of recommendation. The better you know your professors, the better those letters will be. As far as research goes, you’ll be able to find plenty of opportunities at any university and you might actually find more opportunities at bigger schools, as they generally have more research going on.
However, your undergraduate school doesn’t really weight that heavily for the admissions committee when evaluating your application to medical school. The bigger issues will be your grades, MCAT, research, leadership, community service, humanism, and clinical experience. As long as you are great in these areas, it won’t matter where you did your undergraduate training.
For a better explanation on how to make yourself stand out in these areas, click on this link.
Good luck!
Mike